Spokane Fall Folk Festival
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    • Alma Brasileira
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Performers Spotlight for 2017

Donate to Support the Festival
Kori Ailene

Kori Ailene is a folk singer and songwriter who sings original songs and accompanies herself on acoustic guitar. Her passion for writing is reflected in her album, Bear With Me.

KoriAilene.com
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Peter Ali

Peter Ali is a talented and self-taught Naive flutist creating his music from spirit within so each performance is unique and special. Playing a variety of styles, he will demonstrate the music of various plains and woodland tribes, as well as traditional flute styles of Norway and Egypt. He shares their stories as well as stories of his rich ethnic heritage. His father form Morocco is Berber and his mother from Mexico is of Native and southern European ancestry. Listen to the sounds of eagle, running river, nature and the spirit in the flute’s song.

Olivia Awbrey

Olivia Awbrey is a nationally touring, political folk/rock songwriter performing politically inclined folk music that blends American folk roots with modern, nuanced-punk influences.

olivia-awbrey.com
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Angus Scott Pipe Band

The Angus Scott Pipe Band
has enjoyed performing in the Spokane Folk Festival from its very beginning. The band, formed in 1955, was named after Angus Scott, an influential Kimberly BC Pipe Major known for promoting Scottish culture in the Inland Empire. In addition to Folk Festival, the band is active in our region, performing in parades, graduations, private events and other community services. Pipe Major Jenel Thew and Drum Sargent Tom Hamming currently lead Angus Scott Pipe Band.

www.aspband.com

Arvid Lundin & Deep Roots

​Arvid Lundin and Deep Roots is an energetic band playing an eclectic mix of Celtic, North American and Scandinavian music. For over 20 years, Deep Roots has been led by master fiddler, Arvid Lundin, and the driving rhythms of David Beach on guitar and mandolin. About 6 years ago, vocalist Char Beach joined the group with her harp, guitar and Bodhran. Most recent member, Cherie Bronstein, adds a powerful beat with her bass fiddle. Deep Roots will get your toes tapping and have you out of your seat dancing.​

lundinsviolins@hotgmail.com
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Check out their music on our Performers Samples page.

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Hank Cramer

Hank performs music ranging from Celtic to Cowboy. He is not new to the Festival, but it’s been several years since he’s made the journey from Winthrop. Hank Cramer is one of the best-loved folksingers in the American West. He is widely known for his booming bass voice, smooth picking on a vintage flat-top guitar, and his wry sense of humor. He has a repertoire of over a thousand modern and traditional songs, spanning genres of Celtic, Appalachian, maritime, cowboy and plain old folk music. He is more than simply a performer, however. He is a historian and educator who weaves music and history into presentations that bring to life the rich story of America’s westward movement, and gives his audiences insight into the “folk process” by which traditional songs evolve and change to describe new events. A fulltime touring musician for over ten years, Hank now has nineteen CDs, and several movie soundtracks and music videos to his credit. While he performs a regular concert series like most musicians, Hank is strongly drawn to performances in educational settings that enable him to delve into his dual loves of history and music.

hankcramer.com

Dog Paw

This bi-musical contra dance band plays northern and southern tunes. Members of the band include Eugene Jablonsky, Lzs Dresibach and Sally Jablonsky.
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John Elwood and Robin Elwood

John Elwood is a luthier and musician from Eastern Washington. He builds and plays Mountain Dulcimers, and sings. John and Robin deliver beautiful mountain dulcimer ballads, with the occasional squeezebox to flesh out their sound.

Floating Crowbar

Spokane, WA-based multi instrumentalists Don Thomsen and James Hunter have joined forces with guitarist Rick Rubin and fiddler Morgan Andersen in the configuration known as Floating Crowbar, fast becoming known as the best traditional Irish band in the area. With the use of uilleann pipes, flute, whistle, banjo and mandolin as well as fiddle and guitar, Floating Crowbar play a high energy mix of Irish instrumental music and songs drawn from traditional and contemporary sources. Coming from a wide variety of backgrounds and musical interests, they bring together their common passion for Irish music, good humor, mutual respect and friendship into a show that will be enjoyed by any Celtic music fan.

​www.floatingcrowbar.com

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Free Whiskey

This Celtic folk-rock band is known for inciting random acts of dancing, revelry and spontaneous sing-alongs. Free Whiskey performs a mix of old and new, playing punchy pub fare, traditional Irish melodies and rowdy anthems to fit any crowd. The band consists of Brad Calbick, Merri Schultz, Autumn Dryad, Wayne Curtis and Maria Tart, and they call Spokane their home.

www.facebook.com/FreeWhiskeyFans/

Grant Elementary Drummers & Dancers

The group performs traditional African music and dances. The Grant Elementary Drummers & Dancers have been a part of the school for more than 40 years.
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Bodhi Bill Miller

Bodhi Bill Miller is a singer-songwriter. However, he is more than just a singer-songwriter. In his own words, he is an 
artist, writer, jester, poet to the living, and chaplain to the dying. He loves sharing stories and songs from his life. Some are serious, some are whimsical, all have meaning. Looking back on his life, he admits to being a perpetual pilgrim. He’d like to share some of that journey with you. Come listen to Bodhi Bill Miller.

bodhibill.com

Todd Milne & Moksha

Todd Milne and Moksha play world fusion with contemporary grooves. Todd performs & produces Electro-Acoustic World Fusion Music for Meditation, Massage, Yoga, Dance and other Wellness Practices. He plays Electric Bamboo Flutes and Ukulele, performing Solo, and with his band Moksha. His style pays homage to traditions from around the world. Deeply contemplative and serene, the music permeates the environment and induces a transcendental sense of peace and relaxation. His performances and recordings have become popular among those seeking healing and respite from the stresses of modern living.

www.milnesounds.com/todd_milne/
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Mighty Dreadful

The Mighty Dreadful is a premier bluegrass band specializing in the high lonesome sounds from the Evergreen State. It is part string band and part rockabilly, bluegrass junkies. They perform traditional tunes reworked to satiate four down-to-earth, Puget Sound musicians. The Dreadful combine to form a musical juggernaut on stage, captivating audiences with strong vocal harmonies and self-deprecating humor. The band members include Clayton Kaiser, Kelly Erb, Andy Lowe and Nick McLean.

www.themightydreadful.com

Northwest Hula Company

Spokane's only professional Hula dance entertainment company. The NW Hula Co. features authentic and traditional Hawaiian Hula, the fast-hip-shaking Tahitian Dance and the New Zealand Maori Poi Ball Dance. The group is a leader in authentic and traditional Hawaiian Hula and Polynesian dance.

​www.northwesthula.com

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Otis Orchards Malleteers

As an auditioned mallet percussion group of 4th, 5th and 6th graders, they perform multicultural instrumental music. The students perform at various schools and community events around Washington State every year.

River City Ramblers

This Spokane old-time string band features fiddler Judy Lungren, Bill Siems on mandolin, Ted Hensold on banjo and harmonica and Dawn Holladay on guitar. They feature lively dance music for contras, squares and just listening. Nora Scott joins the band and ably calls the dances.
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Dario Re Band

This eponymous band is a blend of indie folk with classical and ghoulish flare. It consists of Re on guitar, ukulele and vocals; Phil Pintor on violin and mandolin, Patrick Culbertson on guitar, mandolin, violin, ukulele and vocals; Thomas Ruble on clarinet and melodica; Wil Jenkins on vocals and percussion; Andie Daisley on vocals and Michael Starry on upright electric bass.

Gabriella Rose

Gabriella Rose is an up and coming singer/songwriter who sings with grit and passion well beyond her 15 years. She is here to sing original songs off her recently recorded EP “I’m Leaving”.
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Safar

Safar performs traditional Arabic music and is accompanied by two dancers. The band members include Roger Sumner on drums, Christopher Lamb on violin and tambourine, Todd Milne on bamboo flutes and ukulele, and Victor Noder on drums and keyboard.

Silver Spurs Youth Folk Dancers

The Silver Spurs repertoire represents over 40 cultures, including Mexican, Japanese, English, Ukrainian, Filipino, Norwegian, Haitian and traditional American dances. A timeline of dance crazes from the USA has popular styles including Charleston, Lindy hop, swing and disco. Character dances, depicting eras or interpretation of styles are included in the dance repertoire. The Spurs perform primarily in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.

www.silverspursyouthfolkdancers.org/
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Paul Ely Smith

Paul Ely Smith performs African-American fretless gourd banjo music. He has been part of the Northwest music scene since the early 1980’s when he released his critically acclaimed LPs on the Flying Fish label. His published research on early African-American banjo music led to the release of his recent CD, American Akonting.

palouserivermusic.com

Spokane Irish Dance

Spokane Irish Dance is a community dance school dedicated to bringing the joy and love of Irish Dance to the people of Spokane. At the Festival, enjoy a mix of reels, jigs and hard shoe dance to get the audience clapping and their toes tapping.

spokaneirishdancers.com
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Spokane Taiko

​Spokane Taiko, founded in 1997, seeks to build community and create awareness through the traditional Japanese music, especially rhythms, dance and martial arts. Audiences will be soothed at times and electrified at others by the primal beat and pulse of the instruments.

spokanetaiko.org​

Stevens County Stompers

The Stevens County Stompers is a clogging group for all ages and all experience levels, from Colville, WA, in Stevens County. Melissa Johnson started the group over 16 years ago and it's still going strong. Melissa's daughter, Hannah Johnson, has been in the group clogging from day one. Hannah studied other dance forms along with her clogging as she grew up. She now holds two national clogging titles in choreographed solo for the years 2014 and 2015. The group performs at most of the local summer festivals in Stevens County and has entertained at the Fall Folk Festival for over 12 years. If anyone is in our neck of the woods, and is interested in learning to clog dance and wants to join our fun group, contact Melissa Johnson at (509) 675-1786.​

stevenscountystompers.vpweb.com/
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Ukulele Players of the Palouse

UPOP meet each month; the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month and the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month. All practices are from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Bishop Place Community Room in Pullman. Everyone is welcome; all ages and levels of playing ability. For anyone under 18 years of age, we ask that they be accompanied by a parent or sponsor.

www.facebook.com/UkulelePlayersOfThePalouse/

Dick Warwick

A cowboy poet. Raised and lives amid the rolling Palouse Country hills of eastern Washington. He says, “The landscape is ingrained in my brain and its rhythms are as familiar as my heartbeat.”
 
He’s written poetry of one kind or another since his school days, but did not happen onto the cowboy variety until 1990, when he heard that some Australian poets were coming to Elko, Nevada. He had become a fan of Australian bush poetry one evening in 1981, in Perth, Western Australia. In Elko, he heard some cowboy poets and decided that he was one.
 
He’s shared his poetry with audiences at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Australia’s National Folk Festival and loads of other places. Despite his many accomplishments, he says, “I shall have to be content with my role as Barnyard Yarnbard, optimist and prognosticator of doom.”

www.cowboypoetry.com/dickwarwick.htm
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Whimzik

Whimzik includes band members Micahel Cruitt from Dublin playing the Uilliann piper; Glenn Kastrinos on flute, whistle and finger style guitar; and Kjelsty Hanson on Bodhran and persuasion instruments. They play traditional Celtic music including songs, airs, jigs and reels from Ireland to Scotland and Brittany. Their performance at the Festival will be interactive with the audience. Their tunes will be interspersed with songs and stories that will be entertaining and heartfelt.

whimzik.wpengine.com

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Spokane Folklore Society is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to fostering international cultures in Spokane.
Spokane Folklore Society, PO Box 9768, Spokane, WA 99209-9768 | (509) 828-3683 | Director@spokanefolkfestival.org
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